Young Pregnant Mom Pushed by Boyfriend's Family to Get Rid of Baby, Flees 3,000 Miles Away
It’s a story about Serenity. Serenity is the name Skye Wickham chose for her daughter, but it also is describes the sense of peace Wickham felt by the time her daughter was born.
The journey through pregnancy for Wickham, now 23, wasn’t always marked by peace.
It was instead marked by the realization that her introduction to pregnancy was far from what she had ever dreamed it would be.
The young mom found out she was pregnant in Oregon rather than in Citrus County, Florida, where her mom was living. She had always imagined her mom would be close by when she found out the big news.
Wickham, her boyfriend and her brother moved to Oregon where they were living with her boyfriend’s parents.
She felt “terrified” rather than excited by the news that she was expecting, according to the Citrus County Chronicle.
She was unmarried, which strayed from her original idea of where she would be in life by the time she got pregnant.
Her boyfriend’s family also made it clear they were not excited about the news.
They thought a baby would negatively affect the young parents’ lives. Abortion was brought up, and Wickham felt pressured.
“I thought about it at first, but it went against everything I was raised with. I had my car with me and I was working, so I took my last paycheck and my brother drove us all the way back to Florida — and I was throwing up the entire way,” Wickham shared with the Citrus County Chronicle.
Her mom encouraged her to come home. The Pregnancy & Family Life Center of Citrus County encouraged Wickham to be the best mother she could be.
The faith-based nonprofit organization began this encouragement by helping the mother connect with her baby. They offered a free ultrasound making the life inside Wickham feel “real.”
Stephanie Bell, executive director of the Pregnancy & Family Life Center, stated, “The world will tell us that a fetus cannot be considered a human being, but at the moment of conception that fetus is present with every characteristic and gene you are now.
“The ultrasound machine plays such a vital part in the Pregnancy Center because these women don’t have to take our word for it, they see it.”
Wickham had the courage to travel 3,000 miles away from her boyfriend and back to Citrus County after being pushed to get rid of the baby. On Dec. 8, 2017, Serenity Raine Wickham was born.
Wickham didn’t get the dream start to her pregnancy, but she has found a new dream.
She now dreams of becoming a nurse so that she can be a positive role model and provider for her daughter.
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